Thursday, October 30, 2008

I'll be back!

I am going to take a little break from the booklet that I am posting on here at the moment. I am not feeling well and have a very busy week ahead of me. So, I will get back to posting it when I am able to return to blogging! Please come back when I start posting again...PLEASE! :o)

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Seven Royal Laws of Courtship Part II



Chapter 1
Tenants of the
First Royal Law of Courtship
Part II of III


"By the grace of Almighty God, I will marry
the person God has created for me."


"But How Will I Recognize the One God Created for Me?"

This book is written to give you Bible principles that will help to guide you to this person. When the time comes, God will let you know. But remember this: he/she is not the one if you have to sacrifice and of your seven biblical goals in order to "make it work." Here are a few suggestions that will help you know and recognize God's perfect will, and be wise enough to recognize a counterfeit sent by Satan.

1. God's perfect will is discernible only to those who have dedicated their lives to the Lord.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:1-2)
God makes clear His good, acceptable and perfect will to you only if you are willing to present your body as a living sacrifice to Him. By the way, this is not an unreasonable request on the part of God. He made you, and He bought you with His Son's own blood. To refuse to dedicate yourself to God prevents you from discovering God's perfect will for your life.

2. God's perfect will is discernible only to those who have transformed their minds from worldly thinking to Biblical thinking.
"...but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2)
If you are to discover God's perfect will, He has a second requirement: you must learn to think differently. The young person who learns to think Biblically, who learns to see things from God's perspective, becomes capable of recognizing the perfect will of God. Your mind will be renewed daily as you spend time in God's word and meditate on those truths you discover.

3. No unsaved person should ever be considered a potential marriage partner.
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (II Corinthians 6:14)
Did you know that the main reason God sent the Old Testament flood to destroy the world was because of Christian young people making the foolish decision to marry unbelievers?
"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:1-5)
Here, briefly, are the events leading up to the Old Testament flood. Two civilizations emerged from Adam and Eve. The descendants of Cain created a civilization where God was excluded. The descendants of Seth, on the other hand, created a civilization where Jehovah God was honored and worshipped. For many generations, these to civilizations had little or no contact.
At some point, each gre and expanded to the point where ther began to be an increased contact between these two groups. The young men who were descendants of Seth began to notice the young ladies from Cain's lineage. They began to pursue them because of one stated reason: "they were fair," meaning they were appealing to the eyes and to the flesh. Years before, Cain's civilization had left behind decency and virtue. Like many young women of today's world, they had been raised with the dangerous notion that the way to attract men was through immodesty and seduction. They wore less, but they were also worth far less.
God's reaction to His children marrying the wroldly, lost inhabitants of the earth was anger. (It is still His reaction today!) He was so angry that He immediaately shortened the average life span of mankind to 120 years. That may still seem like a lot of years, but remember, Adam lived to be 930 years old. If we use his age as a benchmark, God reduced man's life span by 87%!
Did the children of these unscriptural marriages grow up to serve the Lord? NO! Just the opposite is true, for the Bible describes the next generation in sad and frightening terms. "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth...got it repnteth me that I have made them" (Genesis 6:5-7).
When a Christian young person marries an unsaved young person, it grieves the heart of Jehovah God.

Copyright 2004
by Ultimate Goal Publications
All rights Reserved
(Permission given by Author)

Part III of III coming tomorrow!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Seven Royal Laws of Courtship Part II


Chapter 1
Tenants of the
First Royal Law of Courtship

Part I of III

"By the grace of Almighty God, I will marry
the person God has created for me."

(My comments will be in Bold Italics)


Every young person has a secret desire to be happily married. You may never talk about it, but it is there. You may never admit it to your friends, but when you are alone you dream about it. There is a married couple in your church whom you secretly watch. They obviously have a very close, sweet relationship. During public prayer, you peek (young people are great "peekers") at them. You watch as the man slips his hand into his wife's as they pray together. You watch them talk and see the love communicated through their eyes. You see the gentleness that the husband uses when he is with her and the admiration for him that she displays with every look. You think to yourself, Is there someone like that out there for me?
God has created someone specifically for you! This is one of the greatest of all Biblical truths.
"And the Lord God caused a deeps sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2:21-24)
Eve was created as the perfect fit, the perfect complement to Adam. God made a woman specifically for him. You must believe that the Lord God has also created someone just for you.
A part of you is in that specific one created for you. Eve had a part of Adam inside of her. God took a piece of Adam, a rib, and placed it inside of Eve. I believe that God has done the same for most every young person whom He ever created. Someone out there has a part of you in him or her.
You will never feel complete until you meet this person. The great mystery of marriage is this: How can two people become one? Yet God stated that when two people marry, "they shall be one flesh." The answer is simple. Neither of the two were complete before they met. Both of them were missing a part of themselves that they could only find in the other. The divine longing that every young person feels, that incompleteness is there because of how God made us. It is a desire to be whole.
God will bring this person to you. God did not wake Adam and say, "OK, I hid her in the garden somewhere. Good luck finding her!" Nor did God take six ribs and create six women and then say to Adam, "Date each of these and choose the one you like the best!" In His time, God brought the one made for Adam to him.
(AMEN!!!)

Notice, God cause a deep sleep to fall upon Adam: "and he slept." When God brought Eve, He woke Adam. In a real sense, God intends for young people to stay asleep in this area of their lives until the time God brings them to the one He has created for them. The world system, controlled by Satan works hard to awaken a young person early. Hollywood movies, romance novels, rock and roll songs, teen magazines and an array of other worldly influences put a lot of pressure on young people to have boyfriends or girlfriends. All of that leads teens to believe that something is wrong with them if they are not involved with someone. This leads to roller-coaster relationships, one right after another, leaving a young person emotionally exhausted and morally vulnerable. Relationships like there are not sanctioned by God and have resulted many times in the loss of purity of Christian teens. Relax! Rest! Be patient! And trust the Lord. He will bring to you His perfect will in His time.
Adam had to stay in the garden in order to meet Eve. Don't miss this! If you choose to leave the perfect will of God for your life, you sacrifice meeting the one God has created for you. This meeting will occur along the path of God's perfect will. Keep yourself pure. Save yourself for that special one. How serious it is to backslide! How perilous it is to choose to do what you want to do with your life instead of seeking God and His perfect will.
Your teenage years should be about preparation, not pursuit. As we will see in the chapters ahead, one of the primary activities of your teenage years should be preparing for the one God will someday bring to you. Begin now to pray for that person even though you probably don't know as of yet who that person is.

Part II of Part II coming tomorrow!

Copyright 2004
by Ultimate Goal Publications
All rights Reserved
(Permissions given by Author)

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Seven Royal Laws of Courtship Part I

I guess it was about a year and a half ago or so that I posted the book "Stay in the Castle". I had planned on doing then book shortly after that one, but I never did get around to it. So I have decided to go ahead and post it now. I have gotten permission from the author to do so. I hope you enjoy it and learn from it. My comments will be in Italics.



Sever Royal Laws of Courtship
Part I

By: Jerry L. Ross
Copyright 2004
by Ultimate Goal Productions

All Rights Reserved


Introduction

In this booklet I share with you the same biblical instruction that I have taught our teenagers for these many years. Because the principles are contained in this book are founded on the Word of God, they are right and true. Not surprisingly, they are also in complete contrast to what is practiced by the world. Christian young people who mimic the world's unbiblical dating habits must often live with the heartbreaking results of ignoring biblical principles - loss of innocence and purity before marriage, and a coin-flip chance that they will still be married five years after their wedding day.
There is a better way. It is God's way, the Bible way. It takes courage and commitment to see it through, but the reward is the closest thing to Heaven a person can experience on earth - the uniting of two souls into one, saturated with agape love and cemented together by the divine blessing of God.
Teenager, for this to work, you must be willing to enact seven laws that you will agree to live by. If you do, these laws will guide you past the snares of Satan and the pitfalls of your own humanity. If you have the courage to conduct your courtship according to biblical principles, you will be criticized and misunderstood by both the lost world and the carnal Christian. But you will succeed in finding that special one! What, besides salvation, is more important than that?

(This is just not only for the teenager, but also for the single adult. I agree with the criticizing and misunderstanding...I have had to deal with that a lot from family members to the young people at church. I have never regretted my decision to court. Although I am not courting yet, I do know that God has that special someone out there for me and I want to wait, and I know that when the time comes it will be a special and precious time in my life.)

The Seven Royal Laws of Courtship

1. By the grace of Almighty God, I will marry the person God has created for me.
2. By the grace of Almighty God, I will arrive at the marriage altar morally pure.
3. By the grace of Almighty God, I will arrive at the marriage altar prepared to fulfill my responsibilities as a marriage partner.
4. By the grace of Almighty God, our marriage will have the blessing of both sets of parents and our pastors.
5. By the grace of Almighty God, I will have glorified God and maintained an unquestionable Christian testimony throughout my courtship.
6. By the grace of Almighty God, I will give to my partner someone who understands and practices real agape love.
7. By the grace of Almighty God, on my wedding day, I will be in a position to fulfill God's specific
calling for my life.

God is not the only one who has plans for your life. Satan will work feverishly to derail your dreams. The deceiver will offer you shortcuts and compromises. This "roaring lion" will play on your emotions and seek to pervert the natural desires God has placed inside of you. Reread carefully the seven royal laws of courtship previously listed and then compare them with Satan's goals for your wedding day.

Satan's Seven Goals For Your Wedding Day

1. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to marry someone whom God never intended for you
to marry.
2. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to have already experimented with sex.
3. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to be ill-prepared to make your marriage a success.
4. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to break your parents' hearts and grieve your pastor.
5. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to have ruined your testimony and to have brought
shame to the name of Christ because of your dating habits.
6. On your wedding day, Satan wants you to have no idea how to define or practice agape love.
7. On your wedding day, Satan wants your choice of a marriage partner to cause you to sacrifice
the chance to fulfill God's calling on your life.

Although it is sad to say, I believe Satan and the demons of hell dance and celebrate at many a Christian young person's wedding. If Satan can sauce you to miss God's perfect will in whom you are to marry, then he knows he has won a great victory.
Are you ready to examine the seven royal laws of courtship? Are you ready to pass them into law in your own life?

Friday, October 24, 2008

Asked to update.

I was at church Wednesday night and Jessica told me that every time she starts to blog a little more faithfully that I tend to stop blogging. I made sure I told her that it just happens that way! So, I am putting on a post just for my favorite sister-n-law, Jessica!!!

I'm not really sure what to blog about, nothing really exciting ever happens in my life! LOL So I am going to take this time to wish Courtney, a very good friend of mine best wishes for her wedding day tomorrow! I really wanted to be there, but it didn't work out.

Courtney, I wish you and Christopher the best tomorrow
as you start your lives together! I hate I won't be
there, but I will be praying for you and your "very-soon-to-be" husband!
LOVE YOU!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Here Am I


Sacred Heritage Quartet was at our church last Sunday morning and sang several songs. They were so good!!! We got a couple of their cds and this song "Here Am I" was on one of them. I had never heard this song before, but I instantly fell in love with it. It's message is very clear and to the point. I wanted to share it with you.


Here Am I

Verse 1:
So many lost and dying in this world today
Have you heard their crying
Or do you turn away
The harvest now is plenteous
But the laborers are few.
God needs some willing vessels to be used.

Chorus:
Here am I
I will go
I will reach the lost untold
I will give the Lord control
I will tell them of the crimson flow.

Verse 2:
Is it too late for caring
Does Jesus really save
Are we truly praying
For the blind to find their way
Little children are falling into
A burning Hell
Will anyone heed the calling to go and tell?

Chorus.

Bridge:
For my Saviour died
On that old rugged cross
He thought of me when
He counted the cost
How can I say that I love Him
If I don't reply?

Chorus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Written By; Stephen Snider
(Photo Courtesy of Google)

Thursday, October 02, 2008

I Have Been Blessed

I heard this song at Youth Camp this past summer and I have looked for the words to it ever since I heard it. I finally found them! This song has been such a blessing to me. Even with all that our family has been through in these past several months, I have still been blessed!!! Hope you enjoy this song!!!

Verse 1:
When He moves among us all that He does
All of His mercy and all of His love
And the pen of the writer could write everyday
Even this world could never contain
How I have been blessed.

Verse 2:
The warmth in the winter the flowers in spring
The laughter in summer and the changing of leaves
The food on my table a good place to sleep
Clothes on my back and shoes on my feet
I have been blessed.

Chorus:
I have been blessed God's so good to me
Precious are His thoughts of you and me
No way I could count them there's not enough time
So I'll just thank Him for being so kind
God has been good so good
I have been blessed.

Verse 3:
Arms that will raise a voice that can talk
hands that can touch and legs that can walk
Ears that can listen eyes that can see
Oh I've got to praise Him as long as I breathe
I have been blessed.

Verse 4:
A father and mother who nurtured and raised
A brother and sister memories made
Our pastor to lead us the altar to pray
Stripes that can heal the blood that can save
I have been blessed.

Chorus.

Verse 5:
We live in a country the greatest on earth
Our flag stands for freedom and what it is worth
She stands in the harbor Miss Liberty calls
All have gave some but some have gave all
For me to be blessed.

Verse 6:
He's my shoulder to lean on when I am down
The Rock where He leads me when I'm overwhelmed
The place where He hides me under His wings
He's not just a song He's the reason I sing
I have been blessed.

Chorus.

**************************************

I truly have been blessed!!!